i think one of the biggest surprises to me over the past year is the popularity of our vegetable dishes here at the goat. i run into guests when i am out and about at events all the time and the first thing they ask about is the cauliflower. weird. 

when i decided back in the beginning to organize the menu into V, F, M (vegetable, fish, meat), i’m pretty sure i had no idea what i was going to do with vegetables.  they all just fell into place… growing up, my mom used to slow roast whole heads of cauliflower and serve with a cheddar cheese sauce (perhaps it was velveeta… it was quite creamy).  i used to take my serving and drown it in cheese sauce to cover up the fact i was eating a vegetable.  since then, cauliflower has become one of my favorite vegetables!  i even love it raw dipped into ranch dressing. 

here at the goat we serve pan roasted sliced cauliflower with pickled peppers (some hot and some not… kind of a spice woos), pine nuts, parmesan and fresh mint.  the contrast in flavors works well with the subtle flavor of the cauliflower.  by slicing the heads rather than cutting them into florettes, we are able to get evenly cooked cauliflower with a perfect al dente crunch and a bit of carmelization for flavor. 

my friend linda bergonia and her crew came by a few weeks ago and shot a video of the process so now you can try it at home.  great timing since local cauliflower is available at the market!  enjoy!